To support young businesses and promote the drive for entrepreneurship, Xodus Communications has launched an entrepreneurship challenge to provide seed capital and technical support to young entrepreneurs.
About the Startup Pitch Challenge
The start-up challenge, also known as ‘Pitch Challenge,” is a competition amongst young entrepreneurs. It will be hosted once a year from October to March. The startup pitch challenge has the aim to identify, screen, select, and support young entrepreneurs with a distinct selling point for the Ghanaian market as well as has the highest growth potential among the lot with social impact in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Applications for the startup pitch challenge are open to young entrepreneurs operating in these sectors.
• Service
• Technology
• Manufacturing
• Food & Beverage
• Education
• Agriculture & Agro-processing
• Health & Pharmaceuticals
• Telecoms and Mobile
• Others
After the application process, a rigorous selection process, leading to live interviews, televised production of the pitch by applicants, and finally, a jury selection will be conducted.
Eligibility for the startup pitch challenge
According to Xodus, applicants must;
• Be an entrepreneur
• Be a citizen of Ghana or resident in Ghana
• Be between 20 and 40 years of age
• Have a legally registered business
• Have a business that is operating for at least 12 months with a minimum turnover of GHc 50,000
• Run a venture that has a Bank Account
• Run a venture that has a functional website
• Be an entrepreneur with majority shares of at least 51% in the venture in case the venture is owned by more than a party
• Must submit a copy of National ID Card as proof of identity and age
How the startup pitch challenge will be assessed
The overall assessment in declaring the winner will be based on
• Votes from Public – (25%). The public viewers will vote on YouTube.
• Style and Quality of Presentation – (20%). Organization, logic, financial analysis etc
• Votes from the Public – (25%). The public viewers will vote to have a say in the process of selecting the winner of the competition.
• Votes from the Jury – (25%). The Jury will have a score of the overall marks
How the prize money for the startup pitch challenge must be used
The winner of the grand prize of GH₵30,000 is only to use the money for such eligible costs as:
• Purchase of new machines, software, or technology to drive business growth
• Purchase of additional raw materials for production
• Technical Assistance for testing the market potential of a promising product, service, or technology
• Equipment purchase and/or working capital to undertake expansion of existing product or service to cater to a larger market or off-takers
• Cost of Technical Advisory Services for Commercial investment attraction activities
• Funding to undertake research and analytics on markets, competitors, and sector trends.
• Funding to undertake export promotion activities for products or services
• Support for Marketing of products, or a service; especially social media marketing
Winners of the prize money are not allowed to use the money on such ineligible costs as
• Purchase of a new car whether personal or for the company
• Funding any illegal activity as proscribed by the Laws of Ghana
• Sales or distribution of cigarettes or alcohol products
• Payment of salary arrears or existing debts
• Travel expenses on leisure, holiday or vacations including hotel bills or air tickets
• Donations to 3rd parties in any form whatsoever
The seven (7) stages of the Startup Pitch Challenge.
Applicants are expected to go through seven (7) stages of the start-up challenge. These seven (7) include:
1. Online Application
2. Interview
3. Selection
4. Presentation to Jury
5. Grand Finale
6. Votes Collation and Tally
7. Awards Ceremony
How to apply
To apply for the challenge, applicants must visit https://xoduscommunications.com/apply
About Xodus communications
Xodus Communications is a concept development and events management firm with over 10 years of business experience. The companies mission is to “provide an excellent customer service and employ proactive marketing communication strategies to promptly meet the needs of clients at a competitively minimal cost,” with the added vision of being the “most preferred marketing communications company in Ghana and Africa for that matter.”
